Tree Fallin'
by Cosima-wants-the-D-elphine
Summary: This is a mini-fic based on an AU in which Carmilla and Laura meet for the first time when one of them falls out of a tree just as the other is walking by. (It is considered complete right now, but that can change I suppose.)


Laura slipped her sunglasses on and readily accepted the gentle breeze that greeted her as she stepped out of her home. Her neighbor from a few houses down named Danny had invited her to a pool party to celebrate their graduation and since they'd been friends since kindergarten, she absolutely had to go. Her tote bag swung ever so slightly as she began her walk down the sidewalk and passed by her own mail box.

She glanced at a dog on the front lawn of a tan house next to hers, which belonged to the Willis'. That dog was large enough to pass as a wolf and its markings only contributed to the misconception. Practically every resident of the town had had a wolf scare when they stumbled upon the dog for the first time. At this point, Animal Control had a series of questions they were mandated to ask before going out to catch a wolf sighted in the park or in someones yard: _Is it brown or grey? Is it staring you down and/or growling? Is it tackling you for a kill or pouncing on you out of excitement? Does it fetch a stick if one is thrown to it or seem to get even angrier?_

She chuckled as she saw the colossal canine stopped sniffing and look up to watch her walk by.

"Heya, Wilson!" she cooed to him and he wagged his bushy tail and opened his mouth to pant a response. She continued on her way and went by a grey house with a wrought iron fence. This house belonged to the Karnsteins and in a neighborhood full of pastel colored houses, it stuck out like a sore thumb. The woman who lived in it was a single woman whose son and daughter were homeschooled. All three of them never seemed to be home during the day. Or maybe they were and just waited until the evening to be active. It was difficult to tell and many rumors had been developed by both the adults and kids of the town.

 _The house is condemned! The woman is a hermit! They're a three-person cult! Her children have problems! (Though no specific problems were ever really mentioned.)_

It was odd, Laura had to admit. In all her years of growing up only two houses away, shed never laid eyes upon the daughter. Shed seen a glimpse or two of the mother and only a couple more of the son. But never the daughter. She wondered if there was even a daughter in existence.

If anything, she saw their black cat most often. It would saunter around town, always escaping being hit by a car or getting lost. It seemed to be a highly intelligent feline, always knowing what it wanted or where it was going.

She just happened to look at a large tree near the edge of their black gate when she saw a blur of black fall from it, followed by a sickening thump as the blob hit the ground. It was a girl.

The girl grunted as she landed on her back and the wind was knocked out of her. She stared at the sky for a moment, stunned by the impact of the ground on her head. She wheezed and coughed a few times before slowly struggling to sit up.

"Ah, fuck..." she groaned as she used her arms to push herself into a sitting position. She looked down and picked a few leaf fragments off her lacy black top before going to brush the rest out of her raven-black hair.

"A-Are you okay?" Laura finally managed to ask. She'd been too shocked by both the sight of the girl—who was surprisingly gorgeous and uninjured despite the current situation and her fall.

"Just peachy, cupcake..." she bitterly answered. Laura thought she'd hallucinated the pet name, but only had a second or two to think on it as the girl then muttered something that sounded to Laura a lot like, "Why would I shift out of my feline form when I know I'm gonna fall? Cats always land on their feet and youd think I'd know that by now!"

Laura stared at her quizzically before deciding to ask her another question.

"What were you doing up there?"

The girl glanced at Laura out of the corners of her eyes. She didn't want to tell her she'd been stalking a bird simply because her feral instincts had taken over.

"Nothing," she responded a little too quickly. "Nothing. Look, are you just gonna stand there or help me up?"

"Oh! Right," Laura rushed over to her and offered a helping hand. The girl looked at it before hesitantly taking it and pulling herself up. The girl was stronger than she looked and almost pulled Laura down with her when shed used her to get up. Laura then took the opportunity to shyly introduce herself. "I'm Laura."

"And I'm leaving," the girl nodded once at her and spun around to walk toward her house.

"Wait!" Laura called after her. "I've never seen you before."

The girl turned and replied, "And I've seen _too_ much of you after this little interaction. Goodbye."

"I just helped you after you fell out of a tree. You at least owe me a name," Laura insisted as the girl took a step toward the grey house."

"I owe you nothing," the girl retorted without even looking back. But Laura, being the curious person she was, just had to know more about the girl and so without her better judgment, she called after her in one last effort to connect with her.

"You want to go to a party with me?"

The girl stopped dead in her tracks and let out a visible sigh before turning back around to meet Laura's gaze.

"It's Carmilla," she told her sternly. Laura grinned as the girl made her way up to her front porch.

"So I'll take that as a no?" Laura shouted after her. The girl—Carmila Karnstein—rolled her eyes and yanked the door to her house open, stepped inside, and slammed it shut without another word. Lauras eyes went to a half-open window on the upper level and saw Carmilla standing there. She shouted a warning up to her, "You hit your head pretty hard... I'm going to check up on you later!"

And even though Carmilla Karnstein had seemed aloof in the few minutes shed spent with her, Laura swore she saw the corners of her mouth twitch upward to form the faintest hint of a smirk. Laura waved and took a few steps before looking back at the window and seeing a black cat sitting upon its sill. The cat's tail flicked to a side and watched Laura resume her path along the sidewalk until she was out of sight.

 **...**

Laura stared at the wrought iron fence before her before pushing through the gate and making her way up to the Karnsteins front porch and ringing the doorbell. Or had she? She hadn't heard a noise upon pressing the button. For extra measure, she knocked three times.

"Who is it?" a voice called from inside.

"It's Laura. Laura Hollis?" she tried. "I saw you fall earlier..."

The door swung open and Carmilla Karnstein stood before her with only a screen door acting as a wall between them. She was wearing the same leather pants and lacy top as before. Her face, though stoic, was still stunning—perhaps even more so up close.

"What do you want?" she demanded to know.

"I just wanted to see if you were okay."

"I was okay before."

"Well, maybe I just wanted to see you again," Laura promptly blurted. In all honesty, she hadn't considered the insinuation she'd just made with her remark and once if registered with the both of them, they both averted their eyes.

"Well... You saw me. Again," Carmilla finally reacted. Laura nodded dumbly and Carmilla raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow at her. "So what're you still doing on my porch?"

"I'm... Sorry..." Laura apologized for herself. She felt a chill as Carmilla's eyes swept over her and it was only then that it occurred to her that showing up on an acquaintances porch in a bikini with nothing but a large wet t-shirt to cover it was probably not the best move.

"Don't be," Carmilla commented before she could help herself. She tore her eyes away from Laura's shivering body. She cringed at herself before hesitantly asking, "Do you want to come inside? I have a towel..."

"Oh, no that's okay—"

"It's... the least I can do," Carmilla insisted as she guided Laura inside.

The inside of the mysterious house looked as if it were ready to be on one of those interior decorating shows. An elegant crystal chandelier hung in the foyer and the regal crimson carpeting absorbed Laura's every step. It was the type of floor on which anyone would be happy to sleep.

In her awestruck trance, Laura failed to notice Carmilla's absence, that is, until she'd already returned with a towel. The girl gingerly handed the white towel over to Laura, who took it gratefully. The rush of warmth enveloped her immediately and she stared at the towel. Had it been heated?

"Fresh out of the dryer," Carmilla answered as if shed read Lauras mind. "So I take it the party went well?"

"It went... _swimmingly_."

Carmilla groaned aloud.

"Wow, that was... terrible," Laura remarked apologetically.

"It was, but I'll forgive you for it," Carmilla paused. "Were you celebrating a birthday or something?"

"No, graduation."

"I forgot that that was still a thing. I graduated a while ago."

"What? When?"

Carmilla stopped and wracked her brain before coming out with, "Last month. Home schools finish earlier than public schools..."

"Oh, yeah... I forgot about that."

" _Carmilla Karnstein!_ " her mother's sharp voice rang out. "How many times must I tell you not to leave the bloody—"

She cut herself off upon seeing the unexpected guest and forced a pleasant smile, though it resembled more of a snarl.

"Bloody what?" Carmilla inquired innocently.

"Bloody... _Dryer_. Open," her mother thought on her feet. "I didn't know we were having company."

"I'm just making sure Carmilla's okay. She fell earlier and I was just checking on her."

"Isn't that what mothers are for? her mother stiffly joked as she inched closer to them. "Carmilla, darling... Who is this? Is this a friend of yours?"

"She's just—"

"Leaving," Laura interrupted with an awkward smile. "I was just leaving. My dad's going to wonder where I am."

"Oh, won't you stay for dinner?" the woman offered strangely and Carmilla shot her a warning look, to which she smirked innocently. "You can call him and tell him where you are. In fact, he can come too, if he wants."

Laura looked at Carmilla, who shook her head subtly enough to avoid her mother's detection, but enough for Laura to get the message.

"No thank you, Ms. Karnstein. He, uh... Got something special for me, since I'm graduating."

"Graduating! Oh! Congratulations!" Carmilla's mother exclaimed as she clasped her hands together. "Well, I thank you for your concern as I'm sure Carmilla does as well."

Carmilla nodded at Laura, conveying her approval of her handling the situation as well as her gratefulness.

"I'll walk her to the door, "Carmilla declared before doing just that. She turned to Laura, who stood on her front porch, and looked into her eyes saying ever so gently, "Thanks again."

"It was no problem," Laura assured her. She drew in a breath before saying to the girl, "I'm probably way out of line by saying this, but... You seem lonely and I know I just met you today and I have absolutely _no_ idea how you feel about me, but... I know I'd really love to get to know you better."

Carmilla seemed to soften, granted only for a split second, and she waited for Laura to finish since she seemed to have one last thing to say.

Laura boldly stepped closer to her newfound friend, but never crossed the doorway, and asked, "So when can I see you again?"

Carmilla smirked and replied, "You have my towel don't you, cupcake? I'll be expecting that back soon."


End file.
